The Helios Triptych

Cover image of the sun shining through clouds
by Med Ahabchane from Pixabay

“The Helios Triptych” is a serious concert work, written for an accomplished a cappella SSAATTBB choir. The complete work is 15 minutes in duration.

INTERPRETATION
The Helios Triptych can be considered on more than one level.

The first movement addresses the Greek god, Helios, telling the mythical story of how the sun rises and crosses the sky each day. The middle movement is told from the perspective of a person living today, appreciating the transition from early dawn through sunrise and the beneficial warmth of the sun on the earth. The final movement examines the sun from a scientific perspective, with an environmental warning about the power of our sun to give and destroy life.
Considered another way, the Triptych celebrates the progression of pre-dawn glow through the gradual stages of sunrise, to the full, unimaginable and uncontainable power of the sun.
Finally, the Triptych examines the sun through the past, present and future. Assuming that our future is not predetermined, it reminds us that we have an essential role to play in shaping the future of our world.

PRONUNCIATION
Since the text is in English, the Anglicized pronunciations are indicated using the International Phonetic Alphabet. Choirs with access to a Greek coach are welcome to use Greek pronunciations instead.

Helios – /ˈhiːliɒs/
Selene – /sɪˈliːnɪ/
Eos – /ˈiːɒs/
Soleil – /sɔ.lɛj/
Sol – /sɒl/ , /soʊl/
auroras – /əˈɹɔː.ɹəs/, /ɔːˈɹɔː.ɹəs/

I was one of three composers selected from applicants across Canada to participate in the INTERPLAY 2017 workshop offered by Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. The music was thoroughly rehearsed and scrutinized, and feedback was provided by the conductor and by members of the choir. I was further privileged to attend the world premier performance by the Vancouver Chamber Choir in the spring of 2017.

My sincere thanks go to Jon Washburn and the members of the Vancouver Chamber Choir for providing positive, productive feedback during the March 2017 Interplay workshop. Their comments and suggestions were very much appreciated, and were incorporated into the final score before the world premiere performance.

My thanks also go to SOCAN for providing funding to make the Interplay workshops possible.

This score is available for purchase directly from the composer using the Contact page. Please order a copy for each choir member, plus one for your conductor and one for your accompanist.

Full score (pdf with license): $5.00 / copy
A free score (with some redactions) is available for preview